This simple white bread recipe does not disappoint when it comes to quality and flavor. No matter what you use it for, whether its prepping school lunches, making yourself a snack, or serving it as your dinner side, you’ll be in sliced bread heaven.

No need to buy the low-grade store-bought loaves, or spend all your money on expensive bakery bread, you can make this recipe at home any time you want!

Tips and Tricks for Making White Bread

1 package of instant dry yeast usually contains 2 1/4 Tsp

This recipe works with all-purpose and bread flour. The bread flour will give it a slightly chewier and a bit more elastic crumb.

The second rise will be much faster than the first rise. Be careful not too overproof or the bread will not rise while baking and collapse.

Don’t use an oil spray to grease your non-stick baking pans! Oils spray will ruin the surface of those pans, better use a paper towel or brush with some oil or butter.

My house is pretty cold so I like to use the proof setting on my oven.

The amount of flour you need depends on the moisture and temperature in your house. Some days you might need more, some days less!

This recipe can be halved to make only one 8×4-inch loaf but it can also be doubled to make TWO large 9×5-inch loaves! Just use the little slider in the recipe card next to servings to double the recipe. Make sure your stand mixer can handle the amount of flour. I recommend using a KitchenAid Professional

Why Should I Make My Own White Bread?

Making your own bread is actually very simple, and not nearly as complex as you would think. In just over 2 hours you can have a fresh out of the oven loaf of white bread, and that’s with 1 hour and 30 minutes of just waiting for it to rise.

The time it takes to prepare is so worth the peace of mind you have knowing exactly what’s in the bread you are eating. When it’s made at home you don’t run the risk of any added preservatives, it’s like having bakery-fresh bread all the time.

It’s incredibly light and fluffy, and dare I say even better than any bread I’ve bought from the store. It’s the perfect texture you want for all of your bread needs.

What To Use Homemade Bread For

You can use your homemade white bread for anything and everything! Well, maybe not everything, but pretty close.

Use it to make your breakfast toast and nut butter, your turkey and cheese lunch sandwich, or mid-day snack avocado toast. Those are just a few of my favorite uses, but the options are really endless.

How To Store Homemade White Bread

Place in a Bread Box:

A bread box, while a little old school, is still very effective. If you have one or have the room for one, I suggest storing your loaf in there. It will give it the best odds of staying fresh as long as possible.

Wrap it in plastic wrap or foil:

If you want to just leave the white bread out on the counter, instead of in a bread box, you’ll need to cover the loaf with either plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out.

Or a good hack would be to save an old store-bought bread sleeve and store your homemade loaf in there.

Freeze it:

To get more bang for my buck, I always make two loaves or even double the recipe to make two extra-large loaves, and immediately slice and freeze one to save for later. That way once I run out of the first loaf I already have another on hand and ready to eat

If you want a slice right out of the freezer, just pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds or toaster and you’ll be good to go. Or if you have the time, just let it thaw on the counter for a few hours.

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook combine the instant yeast, sugar, and half of the lukewarm water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy (if using active dry yeast, let sit for 15 minutes).

Add remaining water, honey, salt, cubed butter, and 4 cups flour to the bowl. Knead at low speed until the dough comes together and is soft but not sticky. Add a few more tablespoons flour if necessary. Continue to knead for 6-9 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is soft and smooth.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and make sure that it is completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm and draft-free place for about 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Lightly flour your work surface and turn out the dough onto it. Divide it into two equally sized portions. Use your fingers to gently pat each half into an 8×12 inch rectangle while pressing it all over to remove any air pockets. Starting at the short end, roll up the rectangle into a tight roll and pinch the seams to seal. Tuck the ends of the roll slightly under the roll to create some tension on the surface and place each loaf into a greased 8×4 inch loaf pan tucked ends and seam side down. Cover with a greased piece of plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes in a warm and draft-free place until doubled in size.

Notes

Pan Size: This recipe makes 2 regular loaves baked in two 8×4-inch pans or one large loaf baked in a 9×5-inch loaf pan. To make one large loaf don’t divide the dough into two and pat it into a 9×13-inch rectangle. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Some readers commented that their 9×5 loaf was too big, so I recommend using two 8×4 pans.

No stand mixer: This bread can be kneaded by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer. Use a large bowl and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

Bread Machine: I have successfully made this bread in my Oster Bread Machine using half the recipe. Depending on the size of your bread machine you can make one big loaf or half the recipe and make a smaller loaf. The bread won’t be as pretty but taste and texture will be the same.

Butter: Salted butter will work too. I would still add the tsp of salt because the amount of butter is so small. You could reduce to 3/4 tsp salt if you are sensitive to salt. Vegan Butter or margarine can also be used.

Rapid Rise Yeast: Rapid rise yeast is the same as instant yeast, so no changes are necessary.

Flour: This recipe works with all-purpose and bread flour. You can use whichever you have on hand! Bread flour will give it a slightly chewier and a bit more elastic crumb which I really like, but most people don’t have bread flour in their pantry so I made sure this recipe works as well with all-purpose. I don’t recommend using self-rising flour.

Lukewarm Water: Water should be warm, not hot. Between 95 F and 110 F is perfect.

Baking Temperature: Yes, the temperature is correct!

Looking for a bread recipe made with whole wheat flour? Check out my Whole Wheat Bread

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This is the best bread recipe I have tried so far. But I still have trouble with my Kitchen Aid mixer and the dough being too sticky. It never pulls away from the side without me adding, what I think is way too much extra flour. Is there a video out there somewhere that demonstrates this step? The bread is edible, but a little too dense. Thank you!

So happy you liked the bread, Denice! I would knead the dough a bit longer because it will get less sticky with time, but if that is taking too long, you can sprinkle a bit flour over the dough (one or twp tbsp). It’s ok if it is still a bit sticky, the dough should be elastic but often it will still stick a bit to the bowl and that is ok. If it’s just a bit sticky I recommend transferring it to the greased bowl, turning it over so it is completely covered and kneading it with your (lightly greased) hands for a moment to get a feel for the dough consistency, often the dough has the perfect texture even if it was a little bit sticky in the stand mixer bowl. It’s always better to have a dough that is a little bit sticky than to have a dry dough that bakes up dense. But if it is super sticky and wet (like batter), something is wrong, e.g., flour measured incorrectly, water measured incorrectly.

My bread loaf didn’t rise as much as yours, but that’s because my yeast was old. Still came out pretty good! I’m wondering if you add salt to the dough (after the yeast blooms)? It seemed like it needed a bit of seasoning.

I am confused about your description saying “all-purpose bread flour”, but your recipe saying “all-purpose flour”. They aren’t the same thing. I am going to try it with bread flour, since I dug it out of the cabinet already.

I’m not sure which description you are referring to, Ashley? The ingredients list all-purpose flour and the tips and tricks above the recipe card state: “This recipe works with all-purpose and bread flour.” You can use whichever you have on hand! Bread flour will give it a slightly chewier and a bit more elastic crumb which I really like, but most people don’t have bread flour in their pantry so I made sure this recipe works as well with all-purpose.

I don’t recommend using self-rising flour for this recipe, Ruth! Yeast and self-rising flour just don’t work well together. But you could make beer bread, biscuits, or soda bread with the self-rising flour.

I’ve never made bread before and I failed at this first attempt :( I did my best to follow every instruction but certain things were unclear to me…I think because I don’t really understand baking. My bread came out flat topped, dense and a bit crumbly. Help! What do you think I did wrong?

Sorry, it didn’t come out as it should, Tricia! This usually happens if it is over-proofed in the pan. When it has risen too much before you put it in the oven, it can’t rise anymore in the oven and will collapse. Dense and crumbly also sound like you used too much flour. Did you measure the flour correctly? I recommend using a spoon to fluff up the flour in the container, then sprinkle the flour with the spoon in the measuring cup, when the cup is full use the back of a knife to level the flour. Also, make sure to use the right-sized baking pan; if the pan is too big, you might be tempted to let it rise longer. I hope this helps and you give it another try!

Because this bread has no added preservatives (store-bought bread often has stuff added to make it last longer) it will only keep for about 3-4 days. I recommend storing it in a breadbox, in a large ziplock bag, or cut side down on a cutting board. It should not be refrigerated, because that will dry the bread out faster.

Hey Julia, thank you for a wonderful recipe. Quick question: is the oven temp supposed to be 390 degreees or 350 degrees? Just wanted to check b/c I have not baked bread at 390 before. Can’t wait to make it! Thanks!

I have never made homemade bread. Rolls…yes, but bread has always intimidated me with all the steps, and I don’t own a bread machine. This is a really simple recipe for delicious bread. All the local stores were sold out of bread, so this was a necessity if we wanted to eat bread at dinner tonight. Thank you for the recipe, I have sent it to my daughter, who also can’t find bread in the grocery stores right now.

I’m so excited to try this. One question, I have active dry yeast which will require 1/2 cup to dissolve 2 packets, do I need to adjust the rest of the water in the recipe or does it still need 1 2/3 cups?

Hi , I have baked this bread today . I am happy with it . My husband seemed to think it needed more time in the oven as the crust is to thin. Is the crust normally thin and soft. I would think the brushing the butter softens it . I thought it delicious hot with lots of butter . Thank you for sharing

I have made this recipe several times and it’s great. My family would like to see some wheat bread can we substitute 1/2 of the all purpose with whole wheat flour? If so do I need to add anything extra such as liquid or sugar?

I haven’t tried it myself but I think another reader commented that they used half all-purpose, half whole wheat and it came out nicely. You might have to add a little bit more water but that also depends on the humidity in your house.

Yes, that’s right, use your hands to flatten the dough. You don’t want to have big air bubbles in the dough before you shape it, otherwise, the bubbles will only get bigger and your bread will have a hole in the middle.

Hi! I only have a 9×5 pan. I see that it says you dont have to divide and pat into a rectangle, but do you still have to do a second proof? Or can I just put in pan and bake immediately after first 45 min proof? Thanks!

Could you tell me the weight of the flour in this recipe. Depending on whose recipe it is flour weights vary from 4.25, 4.5 and 5 ounces per cup, or 124, 130 , up to 150 grams. As the amount of flour can result in either good or bad bread results it would be appreciated if you could let us know.

I have now added metric measurements to the recipe card (button to switch is in line with the ingredients header). I always go with 125 g flour per cup and recommend spooning the flour into the cup and leveling it off with a knife if using the cup measurements.

I get where you’re coming from, but in North America, cup measurements are much more common and many people don’t own a food scale. You can switch to metric measurements by using the button in the recipe card.

You can refrigerate the other half after the first rise and then take it out of the fridge and shape it when the first loaf is baked and the pan has cooled down to room temperature. The second rise will take a bit longer because the dough is colder.

I haven’t experimented with adding seeds yet so I’m not 100% sure but I would add them with the salt so they are evenly distributed. The flaxseed will soak up water if they are not toasted so you might need to add a bit more water. I would not add too many seeds for that reason, perhaps a 1/4 cup but not more.

If your oven doesn’t have a proof setting I recommend placing a loaf pan or cake pan in the bottom of the oven below the bowl with the dough. Then pour 2-3 cups of boiling water into the pan in the bottom of the oven. This creates a warm and humid environment in the oven that is perfect for proofing yeast dough.

I haven’t tried freezing this dough but I recommend letting the dough go through its first rise, then shape it and put it in a baking pan that has been lined with greased plastic wrap. Put the pan in the freezer, let it freeze for about 10 hours then transfer to a ziplock bag. To thaw, remove the loaf from the freezer the night before you want to bake it and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Remove plastic wrap, place thawed dough in a greased baking pan, cover, and let it rise. Then bake according to the recipe. Hope this helps!

There isn’t a lot of butter in this recipe so it will be fine without any adjustments. From my experience, salted butter, unsalted butter, cultured butter, margarine, or even avocado oil, will work in this recipe. But if you’re sensitive to salt, you can reduce the amount of salt to 3/4 tsp or less.

I have never used the convection mode of the microwave so I can’t really speak from experience but in general, when using the convection mode (and that should be the same for an oven and a microwave) you should lower the temperature by 25 degrees F (about 14 degrees C). The bread will probably brown quicker.

I’ve made this recipe 3 times now and it’s really nice bread. So soft and tastes great. So easy to make also. I used my Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! May I ask if you have an equally great whole wheat bread recipe? When.I made it yesterday I used half whole wheat and half white flour and it turned out really nice. Not sure what adjustments I would need to make to make it entirely whole wheat.

Glad to hear that it turned out really nice with half whole wheat and half white flour, that’s really helpful for other readers! I don’t have a whole-wheat bread at the moment, but I had a few readers ask for one so I definitely will look into it and perhaps I will post one in the next week!

Just pulled out my bread from the oven and half of it is already gone. My husband couldn’t wait for it to cool down to slice and eat, it is that good. This bread is better than store bought and I am sooo glad that I made a double batch so I can freeze the rest!! I will not be buying bread any more.. this is my go to recipe!!! (I used active yeast)

Sorry, this happened, Mini! This can happen because of over-proving or because the dough was not kneaded long enough. If the dough was not kneaded long enough there is insufficient gluten and the dough develops larger air bubbles which can burst when the dough is disturbed. As a general rule, kneading for at least 9 minutes with a stand mixer or about 15 minutes by hand is a good idea, but the longer the better.

Julia, Thank you sooo much for the recipe. It’s just like you described so soft and fluffy! I made this for my family and friends and the said ” they loved it!! And want more”. This was amazing bread and I liked that it did not take to much time to make. Just a little patience and love is all you need!!!!

Hello! I’m curious about the oven temperature. It says to heat oven at 390?! I’ve never heard of doing that. Wondered if it’s a typo?? I’ve been making bread for over 40 years. I look forward to trying your recipe. 🤗🍞. Thank you! Diane Beard

Thank you for this super simple recipe. My daughter and I both use this recipe as our everyday bread. First time mine was very dense and didn’t rise well and hers fell during baking. A few tips that we’ve used to perfect it and get fluffy loaves. preheat oven to 170F. Boil a pot of water and then pour that water into a shallow pan and put it on the bottom oven rack. Turn off the oven. Use the warm steamy oven to proof (rise) your dough. When you for your loaves replace the water with freshly boiled water before returning the dough to the oven for the second rise. I usually will start my water boiling before my first rise is done so i don’t waste time between rises. Also after forming loaves, butter the top before starting your second rise. Do Not let your loaves rise more than an inch above your pan or they will fall while baking giving you a dense loaf. The crust will be crusty but not tough. If you prefer a soft crust, store in a plastic bag instead of a bread box.

Oh also if you use bread flour or sift your all purpose flour before measuring, you will get a fluffier bread.

Leslie, if you only have a 9×5 pan you can make one big loaf. To do that you need to pat the dough into a 9×13-inch rectangle (the short side needs to be the same size as the longest side of the pan) before rolling it up (see the recipe for instructions) and then bake for 30-35 minutes after the second rise.

The crust should definitely not be really crispy and tough. It could happen because your oven was too hot, you used a convection oven, the bread was in there for too long, or it was too close to the upper heating element. A tip to save the bread if that happens is to brush it with melted butter while it’s still hot, the butter makes the crust softer.

Sorry, it didn’t come out fluffy for you, Heather! It should definitely not be doughy. Sounds like the yeast was not strong enough. Did you make sure the yeast is active and the water is lukewarm and not hot?

I’ve followed few recipes of white bread but couldn’t find the good one til i’ve found your recipe!!! Even though something went wrong while i made the bread, the result still quite good. I would say your recipe is better than others i’ve done before. I will do it again for sure and i think my second time should be better. My fault is i haven’t read comments first that made me don’t know how to measure flours correctly. Also i’m not used to using cup metric. While i knead around 15 min by my kenwood majorchef, it was too sticky even though i’ve already added some flours. I tried to proof dough though and i thougt it would be less sticky after proof but i was wrong the dough still was too sticky i coudn’t manage or form the dough into shape. I almost gave up , still i wanted to keep going. I decided to add some more flours and knead with my kenwood mixer again but it was too dry instead so i added a bit more butter and milk til it was soffter. Then proof the dough again. This time the result was not bad. I baked 2 loaves 8×4 inch. They turned out quite good !! Thank you for sharing the recipe:)

Yes, you could skip step one if you use instant yeast. I always do step 1 even if I use instant yeast just to make sure the yeast works, I had a few yeast-fails in my life where the yeast was dead because the package got too hot or it was too old and I had to start over, so I always play it safe :)

I don’t know how it’ll come out yet; it’s just now rising. But I just after the fact noticed that you said make sure to use instant yeast, and if you use active dry yeast, you’ll have to add extra steps. I used active dry yeast. Can you tell me what the extra steps would be?

Don’t worry, Kristi! You didn’t have to do any other steps! I just looked over the post and it looks like I copied this snippet about the yeast from one of my other recipes where the yeast wasn’t dissolved in water. The difference between active dry and instant yeast is that active dry yeast has a larger granule and needs to be dissolved in liquid before using, while instant yeast has a more fine texture and can be mixed right into dry ingredients. The first step is to dissolve the yeast in water in this recope, so active dry and instant yeast work both in this recipe without having to do any extra steps. Sorry, for the confusion!